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Friday, October 22, 2010

A major drug bust took place in three different states involving 44 people who were operating a major marijuana smuggling ring. People were arrested on Friday in drug raids throughout California, Florida, and New York. The co-founder of Jay Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, was one of the 44 people who were arrested last week. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "With today's arrests, we have successfully shut down a major pipeline for marijuana distribution in New York City. This successful operation was the result of a dedicated and ongoing partnership among federal, state and local law enforcement and reaffirms our zero-tolerance policy for those who flout our drug laws".

Federal agents discovered a marijuana smuggling operation that conducted business for two decades during a two-year operation. Apparently the entire marijuana market in New York was cornered by this particular operation. The marijuana was grown in California and Florida and then shipped to New York where it was then sold on the streets according to CNN. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York Police Department worked together with the city's Department of Investigation and Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office. Officials were able to obtain nearly $2 million and more than 360 pounds of marijuana.

The Associated Press reported that, a federal prosecutor announced that Burke was caught via wiretap discussing "grow houses" with the ring's leader. On top of Burke's arrest, who is potentially facing life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, an employee of High Times magazine was also charged. There is no telling what this bust means for the citizens of the State of New York, more than likely the price of marijuana will rise and the quality will diminish, but, let's face it, shutting down this operation only opened up the market for some other criminal enterprise to step in.